2014 Christmas Message From Sri Mrinalini Mata

“Inflame your heart with the fire of devotion, that the light of Christ may blaze within you….Beyond body and breath, you are that ever-living light of Christ peace and joy.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda

Loving greetings to you during this blessed season of light and joy, as we honor the Christ Consciousness that was born in the beloved Lord Jesus and is waiting to unfold anew in each soul. To make that blessed consciousness a reality in our own lives is to rejoice in a divine assurance, an inner anchorage of truth and security amidst the ever-changing conditions and values of this turbulent world. God’s compassionate answer to all uncertainties of human existence comes through divine ones like Christ, who incarnate to remind us of the sustaining, immortalizing love of our eternal Protector and Benefactor. As was revealed to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, there is no unbridgeable gulf between earth and heaven, between our daily lives and the Transcendent Reality. To the humble receptive heart, the Divine is ever near. We only have to lift our gaze beyond everyday cares and the matter-dulled senses to discover that just behind the shadows of maya is the soul-illumining light of God’s presence; just behind our human forgetfulness — victory and boundless joy.

A mind too much focused on the tumultuous surface of life and on the temporary physical body makes us feel anxious and vulnerable. Christ’s example calls us to discover the measureless potential of our true immortal self. Gurudeva Paramahansa Yogananda once said, “We think of the baby Jesus as helpless in his crib…yet within that tiny form was the Infinite Christ, the Light of the universe.” Latent in us is the same Light, the same inexhaustible Source of joy, and the power to reflect God’s goodness. At this sacred time when the vibrations of Christ-love reinforce our desire to spiritualize our lives, we have a heaven-sent opportunity to absorb into our consciousness the divine qualities of Jesus, aided by his omnipresent help and our own devotional receptivity. Let us fill our minds with the inspiration of his humility and compassion for all, and draw strength from his courage and utter trust in God. Let us expand our love and unselfish understanding beyond the delusion-imposed perspective of the little “I,” kindling a flame of Christ Consciousness in us that purifies and transforms our attitudes, our relationships, our whole outlook on life.

The supreme blessing of Christmas will come as you make time amidst the activities of this festive season to invite the universal Christ Consciousness into the cathedral of silence within your soul. In the sanctuary of deepest meditation, you can touch the “peace that surpasseth all understanding” and begin to experience the all-encompassing love and strength that Jesus emanated in the face of all obstacles to fulfilling his mission. As that meditation-born consciousness suffuses your being, you will realize, as he did, that maya cannot intimidate or balk you. You will find yourself emerging from the tiny cocoon of the ego into the native vastness and freedom of your soul — shining with the all-pervading Light of God. I pray you may receive this Christmas the life-changing gift of that inner awakening.